Korean Software Leader Haansoft Joins OSDL

BEAVERTON, Ore. and SEOUL, South Korea, May 12 /PRNewswire/ -- The Open Source Development Labs (OSDL), a global consortium dedicated to accelerating the adoption of Linux(R), today announced that Haansoft, Korea's leading developer of software, has joined OSDL and will participate in the Lab's Carrier Grade Linux (CGL) working group.

Haansoft, a Korean IT leader guiding the rapid rise of Linux in Asia, dominates the market for Korean-language office software, enjoying a 70 percent share for its word processor. Along with Red Flag Software in China and Miracle Linux in Japan, Haansoft jointly develops the Asianux Linux server operating system that aims to become the common enterprise Linux platform in Asia.

"Haansoft is joining OSDL to strategically work with Linux vendors worldwide," said Jaykay Kim, general manager of Haansoft. "We look forward to contributing our expertise in Asian software development and working with our peers in the OSDL Carrier Grade Linux working group. With the growing importance of the CGL, we have committed to support the specification in Asianux 2.0."

"There is a huge opportunity for Linux across the Asian continent and we welcome Haansoft's experience in the Korean Linux market," said Masanobu Hirano, OSDL's director of Asia. "OSDL is looking forward to working closely with enterprises, developers and vendors in Korea to accelerate Linux adoption in this fast-growing market."

In Korea, many government and corporate IT managers are rushing to embrace Linux. In January of 2004, the Korea IT Industry Promotion Agency announced a $50 million project that would switch more than one thousand governmental IT projects over to Linux and open source software. About Haansoft

Haansoft (http://www.hansoft.com) is the largest software maker in Korea. With more than 10 million copies of the Hangul office suite sold, Haansoft enjoys more than 70 percent of the office productivity software market in Korea. The company focuses on innovation and continuous development, which it applies to a broad base of technology services and solutions. In addition to market-leading Linux OS products, Haansoft provides applications to more closely meet the needs of Linux customers. Thinkfree is a leading example of Haansoft's OS independent application focus. Haansoft's technological leadership helps create a world where software allows users to work on any computer anytime, regardless of the OS. About Open Source Development Labs (OSDL)

OSDL -- home to Linus Torvalds, the creator of Linux -- is dedicated to accelerating the growth and adoption of Linux. Founded in 2000 by CA, Fujitsu, Hitachi, HP, IBM, Intel and NEC, OSDL is a non-profit organization at the center of Linux supported by a global consortium of more than 60 of the world's largest Linux customers and IT industry leaders. OSDL sponsors industry-wide initiatives around Linux in telecommunications, in the enterprise data center and on corporate desktops. The Lab also provides Linux expertise and computing and test facilities in the United States and Japan available to developers around the world. Visit OSDL on the Web at http://www.osdl.org . NOTE: OSDL is a trademark of Open Source Development Labs, Inc. Linux is a trademark of Linus Torvalds. Third party marks and brands are the property of their respective holders.